To fully understand and appreciate how great — or not great — a band is, you have to see it live. Live music tells all. It exhibits the band’s talent, energy and charisma — or like I said, lack of it. Fortunately, Don’t Stop Please was overflowing with all three last night.
Gellas Diner and L.b. Brewing Co. opened a new Irish Red beer last night for New Beer’s Eve, and accompanying the premier was Don’t Stop Please. Technically, it was their own premier since it was their first time playing in Hays.
I was fortunate to be introduced to this band by a friend who had seen them in Kansas City last year. I fell in love right away. No matter how cliche it sounds, Don’t Stop Please really is a breath of fresh air. Austin wrote about the Harlem Shake just a few days ago and how bad popular music is right now. On the other side of the spectrum, though, there’s plenty of great music, and Don’t Stop Please is toward the top of the list.
When Emily Howe, senior, and I found out Don’t Stop Please was coming to Hays, we both about about peed our pants. Emily’s seen them before, but last night was my first time. And it was so worth it. School night, schmool night.
I was unbelievably impressed with their talent. The band rotated instruments, and after five or so songs, they had made a complete circle and ended up where they started. It was incredible. At one moment, Anna Horton was on vocals, and the next, she was on percussion.
The wide variety of instruments was also impressive. It wasn’t your normal bass, electric, acoustic and drums. They’ve got a trombone, a sax, a trumpet, a banjo and more. Basically, they’ve got it all. Again, so impressed.
Rarely have I ever been to a mainstream show where the bad was as good live as it was on CD. That’s definitely what’s lacking in the music industry — real talent without autotune. You find your bands that are better live than on CD at small venues like Gellas. And that is definitely Don’t Stop Please — better live than on CD.
I hope you were lucky enough to stumble upon Don’t Stop Please last night. I know if they’re ever close to Hays again, I’ll be first in line for the show.
I looked them up. They are definitely a talented band. I wish that I could hear their music on the radio instead of Harlem Shake. One can dream right?